News | September 22, 1998

VA TECH Elin Purchases Rolls-Royce's Transmission and Distribution Business

Rolls-Royce plc agreed to sell its electrical transmission and distribution business to VA Technologies (VA TECH) and its subsidiary Elin Energieversorgung GmbH of Austria for cash consideration of GBP 137.5 million.

The sale includes Rolls-Royce's the following businesses and manufacturing operations:

  • Reyrolle Limited and Reyrolle Projects Limited, located at Hebburn on Tyneside, UK;

  • Peebles Transformers, located in Edinburgh (Peebles Electrical Machines, which is based on the same site, will remain part of the Power Generation business of Rolls-Royce);

  • Ferranti-Packard Transformers Limited, based in St Catharines, Ontario, Canada with subsidiary operations at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada and Guanajuato, Mexico; and

  • Reyrolle Pacific based in Wellington, New Zealand, with subsidiary operations in Auckland, New Zealand and Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia

VA TECH ELIN will also take over the transmission and distribution activities of Rolls-Royce Industrial Controls that are currently located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. The sale, however, does not include the sale of switchgear and transformer activities of NEI Africa. The sale is expected to be completed in early October. All of Rolls-Royce's 2,900 employees will transfer to VA TECH ELIN.

In 1997 Rolls-Royce's Transmission and Distribution business recorded sales of GBP 260 million and an operating profit of GBP 4.3 million. Its net assets, including retained liabilities, amount to GBP 112.5 million subject to completion adjustments, resulting in a profit of GBP 25 million on the sale.

Rolls-Royce plc is a global company meeting present and future requirements of aerospace, defense and energy markets, with facilities in 14 countries

VA Technologie AG (VA TECH) is a technology-based engineering group based in Austria. The group is active worldwide as a systems supplier in Metallurgical Engineering, Energy and Environmental Engineering and Plant Engineering and Services.

ELIN Energieversorung, a 100% subsidiary of VA TECH, is an international power engineering company with the core areas of power generation and power transmission and distribution and a system supplier for hydroelectric and thermal power plants, power transmission and distribution.